The morning after the night before
by Rogue 559
Summary: Shalimar and Brennan attempt to get away from Ali without any kind of sexual tension...crazy!
1. Back into the real world

Disclaimer: obviously the cast of Mutant X is not mine. The original characters, whoever they may be, haven't thought that far ahead are mine. Duh is really rather redundant at the moment.   
  
I don't know why I started writing this story, just did, probably to distract myself from the chore of doing homework and studying. Bad Rachel.  
Anyway I hope you all enjoy. Its a little dark. As always reviews and flames are appreciated. They all help.  
And I don't know if the formatting of this will work out okay. Sorry if it doesn't. Totally not my fault.  
Have a nice day.  
  
Noise suddenly and without warning filled the room. She sighed as she rolled over, hoping that   
eventually the song would reach a quieter moment, allowing her enough opportunity to go back to   
sleep. Unfortunately it just seemed to get louder and louder until it became unbearable.   
She pushed the covers off of her warm body. Her skin was greeted by the chill of the room and she   
quickly pulled them back around her as she went to shut off the stereo. Having done so she went back to   
her bed and practically dropped back onto it.   
But now she was too awake to sleep anymore. She could hardly remember what had happened the night   
before. And she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. She had gotten pretty damn drunk.   
  
Shalimar was sitting at the desk watching the computer screen flash through images and text at speeds   
that her sleep deprived eyes couldn't handle. She looked away into the mug of lukewarm coffee she was   
holding in her right hand. She needed to have a shower. The stamp from the club they had all been at   
the night before was faded but still visible.   
She stood up, leaving the computer and the coffee as she wandered into the kitchen. She wasn't entirely   
sure what to do with herself. Adam had gone out to deal with some business or go shopping or   
something. She hadn't really been listening when he had told her. Emma and the guys were still   
sleeping in their rooms and she couldn't sleep but didn't have enough motivation to do anything   
strenuous.   
She left the kitchen in search of some aspirin.   
  
Jesse woke with a start. He looked around him for a couple of seconds before a pounding headache hit   
him with full force. He didn't think he had drunk that much last night. Shalimar and Emma had been   
knocking them back much faster but he still felt like puking.  
He laid his head back down and tried to get back to sleep so he could try and block out some of the   
pain. He wriggled on the bed for a couple of minutes attempting to get comfortable but nothing seemed   
to work. He still wasn't getting any sleep, still wasn't blocking the pain out and he still felt like he was   
going to vomit.   
He got up and walked slowly into the bathroom. He ran some water into the sink and splashed it into his   
face trying to wake himself up a little bit. Blue eyes stared into blue eyes as he looked at himself in the   
mirror. The normally calm blue was rimmed in red. His eyes looked tired. He wiped a white cotton   
towel over his face and trudged back into his bedroom to get some more sleep.   
  
The covers were half way across the room, lying draped over his table, hanging on the floor. He had   
gotten too hot during the night and had flung them there. Now he was freezing but couldn't be bothered   
to get out of bed to fetch them. And he had a feeling that if he did get out of bed his headache would   
really kick in. And that would be a really bad thing because he was already in major amounts of pain.   
Last night had seemed like a good idea when they were all getting ready. But all their pent up   
excitement had come together with a bang when they had reached the bar. Too many drinks had been   
consumed and he had a feeling that he wasn't the only one suffering.  
  
Shalimar was getting bored. She had been up for hours and so far there was no sign of anyone. Even   
Adam, normally Mr Efficient wasn't back from wherever the hell it was he had gone. Usually she would   
have gone out to do something active or she would have gone head to head against some holograms but   
today, after the night before she really didn't feel like it.   
She wandered over to the couch in the rec room and slowly, without really paying attention to what she   
was doing skimmed through the DVDs they had stored on shelves. It was quite the collection and she   
could tell instantly which DVD had been bought by which person in Sanctuary.   
Brennan liked his action movies, lots of fast cars, hot women and big explosions. Or atleast that was   
what he would have wanted everyone to believe. In his room there were a couple of dramas, specifically   
Shakespeare. He definitely didn't want those on show in front of Jesse, the teasing would never end.   
Emma's collection consisted of romantic comedies. She was a sucker for films like Serendipity. Adam's   
were all either science fiction (he liked to point out the scientific goofs) and dramas like Saving Private   
Ryan. Jesse liked action films like Brennan but he seemed to leave out the drama part. And Shalimar   
was a complete mish-mash. She had no preference as far as movies or music went. She didn't mind   
gangster films, liked action, thrillers, romantic comedies, plain old slushy romantics. She really wasn't   
fussed. So not having the motivation it would take for her to choose she closed her eyes and drew her   
fingers across the bindings of the DVD cases. Her hand came to a stop.  
'Hey,' came Brennan's croaky voice from across the room. Her eyes opened instantly. She hadn't heard   
him coming. Her feral senses must have been stunted by the constant dull ache reverberating through   
her head. Even aspirin hadn't been able to hold it back.   
She turned her head to look at him and almost burst out laughing. Brennan, the bad ass, street smart,   
tough guy was standing in the doorway of the room wrapped in a blanket with the most pitiful look in   
his eyes. He looked so like a hurt puppy she just wanted to lay him down on the sofa and make him   
soup and bring him hot water bottles…almost. She knew what kind of bad patient he was and there was   
no way she putting up with that for a whole day just because, like the rest of Mutant X he had drunk a   
little too much the night before. She didn't have the kind of patience that that would take.   
He trudged over to the sofa and practically dropped onto it.  
'You look like I feel.'  
He looked up at her with a glare. She was always so cheerful in the mornings, it made him sick. She   
laughed at him. He was always so grumpy in the mornings. It made it a heck of a lot easier to tease him.   
'What do you wanna watch?'  
'Like I care.'  
She looked at him again. He was so hungover. Normally Brennan could hold his drink pretty well but   
last night they had all really let themselves go. There was no Gabriel, no GSA to deal with and they had   
all deserved the break. They were all paying for it but atleast for a couple of hours they had all been   
relaxed.   
She slipped one of the DVD cases off of the middle shelf and opened it whilst walking to the   
entertainment system. Adam, when re-designing Sanctuary had placed it all in the walls to save space.   
That had always puzzled Shalimar. Sanctuary was huge so why the hell did they need the space that   
would be taken up by a TV, VCR, stereo… Whatever. She didn't care that much.   
She put the disk into the machine, grabbed the remote control and walked back to the couch.   
Brennan still had a huge cloud hanging over his head. She wasn't sure what the reasons were for it   
being there but thought it better not to inquire. With Brennan in the mood he was in she wasn't sure   
what his reaction would be and wasn't too sure that she wanted to find out  
She dropped down next to him and pushed buttons on the remote to start the film.   
Neither of them were really watching it, they were too tired and lethargic to really care. They couldn't   
sleep and needed something to do for a couple of hours.  
  
A few hours later and the movie was drawing to its conclusion. Shalimar had finally succumbed to the   
exhaustion that had been hanging around her for a while and had fallen asleep. Her head was resting on   
the arm of the sofa and her legs were curled under her. Brennan looked across. His brow creased as he   
thought of her the night before.   
She had been dancing wildly, as per usual, the beat pulsating through every fibre of her being. She had   
always managed to give her whole self into the music and rhythm. The rest of them had been out   
danced a million times and now didn't even bother trying to keep up with her. She had been wearing   
some low cut jeans and a deep red top with beading around the neckline. Her slim arms had been   
adorned with beaded bracelets and her hair had hung loose on her shoulders.  
He had watched her from his seat for some of the night. He had always thought she was hot but it had   
never bothered him before but now… he didn't know what was going on between the two of them. New   
feelings had developed over the months. They spent so much time together it was only really to be   
expected. But he hadn't known what to do with the new emotions. Normally he would have gone out   
with the girl in question and then seen how things went from there. He wasn't really one for planning   
things out in advance but this was Shalimar. He wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him and what if   
everything went really wrong and it split the group apart. He couldn't think about it like that. Nothing   
was going to happen because the consequences could be disastrous.   
So eventually he had dragged his eyes away from Shalimar to the hot brunette who had been eyeing him   
for a while. She was cute, no Shal admittedly but he had to stop dismissing women simply because they   
didn't meet up to Shalimar's standards. It wasn't healthy.   
So he had been pulled onto the dance floor with the girl, he forgot her name and they had danced and he   
had brought her drinks and she had brought him drinks and then she had disappeared. He had no idea   
where but it wasn't like it mattered. It had been fun…that was all.  
Shalimar stirred slightly in her sleep and her leg moved out from beneath her body and pushed against   
him. He didn't know why but it really bothered him so he pushed her leg away.   
At that she woke up and stared at him, a smirk on her lips. It really annoyed him and he had no clue as   
to why. She poked him trying to get a rise out of him. Normally he would have joined in the fun or   
ignored her but this time it really pissed him off so he grabbed her hand tightly.   
Pain appeared in her eyes straight away and she tried to pull her hand away from his grip but he   
wouldn't let go.   
'Brennan?'  
He gripped her hand harder so she tried to pull it away again. Panic filled her mind and confusion   
reigned supreme. She looked directly into Brennan's eyes but didn't recognise the look they were   
giving her. There was something harsh and cruel in them.   
Brennan stared right back into the brown eyes of Shalimar. He could feel fear running through every   
vein in her body. He could tell she was scared and in a sadistic way he totally loved it. He grabbed her   
hair and releasing his grip on her wrist practically threw her across the room. She slammed against the   
wall and then slumped onto the floor, completely winded and unable to move. She had no idea what   
was wrong with Brennan. But there was no one around to help her and strong as she was, in terms of   
physical strength she knew that Brennan could take her anytime. It was then that she felt Brennan's foot   
connect with her stomach. She doubled over in pain and started choking. A couple of drops of blood   
dripped from her open mouth and then she looked up to see what Brennan was going to do next. His   
foot smashed into her jaw and everything went black. 


	2. Shelby Mustangs and Comlinks

Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed the first chapter. I wasn't expecting that good a response so pleasantly suprised.   
  
I'm still trying to sort out my formatting problems. Not sure what's wrong with my computer but still trying...so bare with me.  
  
Hope y'all enjoy the second installment.   
  
Please review.  
  
Have a nice day.  
***  
Emma sat up. She had managed to get an extra couple of hours sleep but was know completely awake. She had heard a loud thump from another part of Sanctuary. Emma did not understand Shalimar sometimes. She always managed to get up so early even with the worst hangover known to man and new mutant. Emma just wanted to sleep but now there was no hope of her drifting back to her previously unconscious state.   
  
She shoved the covers off and climbed out of her bed. She walked over to her closet and started to get some clothes out but she didn't have the motivation or the energy to decide so she dragged out a jumper and pulled it over her head as she walked out of her room and down the corridor. She walked into the rec. room and, when she couldn't see Shalimar headed into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and then walked back into the rec. room. She dropped onto the couch and, as she inhaled the smell of the coffee looked around the room for some clue as to where Shalimar had gone. She was sure that she would be fighting holograms or something.   
  
And then she spotted the blood.   
  
She placed the cup on the table in front of her quickly and walked over to the wall.   
  
'Shalimar,' Emma said frantically into her Comring. She stood up and started running to Shalimar's room. On the way she smacked straight into Jesse. He had gotten up, concerned by all the noise.   
  
'Emma, what's wrong?'  
  
'I don't know,' she replied, looking him straight in the eyes.   
***  
Brennan looked across at Shalimar in the passenger seat. She would have looked like she was sleeping if it wasn't for the dried blood coming from the corner of her mouth. A few errant strands of hair hung over her face and her head leant back against the headrest.   
  
Brennan suddenly pulled up on the empty road. He watched as Shalimar's whole body jerked forward and a smirk flitted over his features. 'Lucky you're wearing your seatbelt, huh, honey? Wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?' His foot put pressure back on the accelerator and the car sped off down the highway.   
  
After Brennan's attack on Shalimar he had picked up her unconscious body and carried her through to the garage at the back of Sanctuary. He had placed her in the passenger side of one of the Shelby Mustang GT 500 [1] and had then proceeded to drive off into the distance.   
  
They were currently cruising along an abandoned road in between a clear blue lake and a pine forest. Just beyond the next turn in the road there was an old log cabin, completely dilapidated. It had been left to its own devices for so long that it was barely recognizable as a building. Brennan reached the cabin and came to a complete halt. He got out of the car and walked round to the passenger side to let Shalimar out.   
  
He opened the door and received a hard kick to the head for his troubles. He stumbled backwards, tripped over a root and fell onto his ass on the ground. Within milliseconds Shalimar was out of the vehicle and pinning him down to the floor, her foot putting pressure on his throat.   
  
'That's for jerking the car around,' she shouted in his face. She looked into his eyes. She could see the pain that she was causing but there was no semblance of the Brennan she knew left.   
  
Suddenly she fell to the ground, a tranquilizer dart buried in her neck. She looked up at the sky through the trees. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she was unconscious again.   
***  
Jesse span round in the chair to face the computer monitor. He located the file which held all of the Sanctuary monitor footage. There were cameras covering all of the entrances and exits to Sanctuary, including the garage. He rewound the footage to the time when Emma said she had heard the crash and then wound it forward till he found some action. He leant forward in the seat and watched, openmouthed as Brennan carried Shalimar's body into the room and then dumped it in one of the cars.   
  
Emma walked quietly up behind Jesse. He turned around and looked at her quizzically. She shook her head. She had found nothing in either Brennan's or Shalimar's rooms to indicate where they had gone or what had been wrong with Brennan when they had left. It looked like they had just gotten up, their beds unmade, the clothes from the night before still strewn on the floor. There was a finished DVD in the player and some cups on the table.   
  
Jesse began a search for Shalimar's Comlink on the computer. Emma took the opportunity to check out Jesse's feelings. He loved Shalimar like a sister, that she already knew, but it wasn't so much his feelings for Shal that she was worried about. Seeing Brennan do that stuff to her must be killing him. She wasn't suprised by what she was receiving emotions wise from Jesse. Worry, fear, anxiety, anger, all of them present in his mind. She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, hoping that it would provide him with some comfort and at the same time knowing that it probably couldn't.   
  
After a couple of minutes the computer came up with nothing. Brennan knew exactly what he was doing and had probably taken it off when he had taken Shalimar. The same went for his.  
  
'I'm gonna go try and find them, okay Jesse?' came Emma's almost whispered voice.   
  
He turned to her and smiled. It was small, barely there at all but Emma saw it and smiled back.   
  
Jesse turned back to the computer and raised his hand to his mouth.   
  
'Adam.'  
***  
[1] I love this car, had to get it in somewhere. 


	3. Lost and not quite found

Brennan turned around after watching Shalimar fall to the ground. He found himself looking at a gorgeous petite, brunette woman. She had slanted emerald green eyes and a quirky smile on her deep red lips. She raised her eyebrows at him as he turned back round. She reached down to the ground to pick up her bag from the forest floor and slung the strap over her shoulder.   
  
Brennan looked down at Shalimar's body. He was suddenly feeling faint and a huge wash of guilt rolled over him. He ran over to Shalimar and knelt, almost fell down next to her. His hand brushed against the side of her face.  
  
'What the hell is going on? Shal? Shal?' His voice rose with panic as she didn't wake. He pulled the dart from the side of her neck and threw it to the ground.   
  
She laid her hand on his shoulder gently and as he looked up her eyes flashed a brilliant blue. They glowed and sparkled and a beam abruptly started flowing from her eyes into his. He slowly stood up and faced her. Eventually the beam broke itself off and the blue light gradually faded into the green of the brunettes eyes.   
  
Brennan blinked hard as though trying to clear his vision of some haze, some obscurity. But when he opened his eyes again they were different. They looked nothing like the eyes of Brennan. They had changed, become cruel all over again. The warmth, the vague hint of laughter that was usually present in Brennan's eyes had disappeared.   
  
He looked down at Shalimar and then bent and picked her up roughly. The brunette smirked as she watched Brennan carry Shalimar over to the cabin doorway. He used her feet to push the door open and walked inside, his form disappearing into the darkness.   
  
***  
  
The car pulled into the garage. The front door opened and Adam was greeted by the relieved faces of Emma and Jesse. They had been waiting for him all night and both were exhausted.   
  
Adam was tired. He had been driving all night without a break, desperate to get back to Sanctuary to find out what had happened to Shalimar and Brennan. The business he had been dealing with would have kept him out of town for a couple of days and it was important but they were more so.  
  
He walked into the media room and sat down at one the chairs while Jesse and Emma leant against the tabletop. Emma was dead on her feet from being up all night. They hadn't dared go to sleep, either of them just in case Shalimar needed help. They still didn't know why Brennan had done what he did or where he had taken Shalimar. Jesse had gone through denial, anger, panic, and was now stuck on anxiety. He had calmed down when Emma had made him aware of the fact that it wasn't helping anyone. He just wanted to find Shalimar. After that he would decided whether he was gonna kick Brennan's ass or not.  
  
Adam looked at Emma. They both knew what Jesse was going through. In some ways it had to be worse than what they were feeling. Adam had known Shalimar for a longer space of time but Jesse and Shalimar's bond was so much stronger than that. They were brother and sister in all but actual blood. They had talked about everything with each other. They had comforted each other when no one else could, including Adam. They were pretty much the same age, it was only to be expected. Shalimar was Jesse's wild side and he was her subdued one. They balanced each other perfectly. Emma had envied their relationship in the beginning. She had never been that close to anyone in her life. But she had gotten over it. She had developed her own relationships with the two of them and in her own way she was close to them too. Which was what was confusing and worrying her. She had tried looking for Shalimar with her telempathic abilities. Since she had joined Mutant X her powers had gotten stronger through practice. And finding people that she knew as closely as Shalimar and Brennan was normally easy. But she hadn't picked up anything, or atleast anything useful. Shalimar had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth and Brennan's signal was so warped she couldn't deduce anything from it.   
  
Jesse hadn't had any more luck with technology. After trying the com rings he had attempted to track the car but Brennan knew exactly what he was doing. He had de-activated the cars tracer and Jesse had had to turn to other methods. He had checked all the hospital and police station records within the area but had discovered nothing. They had both, with the car just...disappeared.   
  
***  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get shot of all the blurriness. When she opened her eyes again she could make out slightly less vague outlines of objects in the room. She blinked some more until she could make out actual shapes.  
  
'Well, that was so worth it,' she muttered under her breath as she swiveled her eyes around. There was nothing to see. Literally. There were a couple of lines of bright light, low to the ground, presumably where doors were to be located. They gave some of the shapes in the room shadows but other than that the whole blinking a lot had done nothing to improve her situation.  
  
She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't move her arms or her legs. She lifted her head and looked down the length of her body. Her legs were attached to the table she was lying on by thick steel bindings. She tried putting some serious pressure on the bonds but they weren't budging so she gave up. There was no point in wasting perfectly good energy on a lost cause. She was gonna save up some reserves of strength until she saw Brennan and then she was gonna use it all up in one go.   
  
She closed her eyes suddenly as the door opened and an overhead light was turned on. She gradually opened her eyelids slightly and squinted. The light was right above her head and its beams were shining right into her pupils. Eventually she managed to open her eyes enough to see what was going on in the room.   
  
A shadow drew across her face and the light was shut out just as quickly as it had been turned on. She looked up into the cold eyes of Brennan. He looked so different from his usual self. Anyone else would never have known that he had become more aggressive, more violent, more harsh just by looking at him. But Shalimar knew him too well. She could always tell when something was bothering him and she could usually tell whether to ask about it or let it go. That had been happening more and more over the weeks since their almost kiss. They had stopped talking as much as they used to. Things had become more awkward and tense between them and small talk had become a regular conversation topic. But that didn't mean she didn't still notice when something was...off.  
  
Brennan looked down at the face and the worried eyes looking up at him. He stared for a minute and then stood up straight and walked back out of the room, turning the light off and slamming the door behind him as he went.   
  
Shalimar was left in the darkness as a single tear rolled down her face and dripped onto the steel table. The clank as it fell echoed into the darkened recesses of the room. 


	4. Truth and blood

'So, what do we do now?' asked Emma quietly. Her and Adam were sitting by the meditation pool. There had been no further success on finding anything about Brennan or Shalimar. Jesse was losing patience so they had decided to leave him to it.   
  
'I don't know. I looked at those security tapes again. Either Brennan wasn't really Brennan or he's been intoxicated by something.'  
  
'Intoxicated by what?'  
  
'That's the part I'm trying to figure out. It could be some kind of poison that he's ingested or it could be some kind of new mutant.'  
  
'Like Lorna Templeton?' Emma looked down as she saw Adam nodding. She remembered what that had been like. She had known that Lorna was trouble but when it came to women Brennan was blind. Well, not quite. If they were good-looking women Brennan was blind. Not so much with Shalimar though. It was like he was so much more scared of hurting her. It was sweet the way he always tried to protect her, to be her knight in shining armour, even when she didn't need one. Unfortunately for him that was most of the time but he never stopped trying. And Shalimar knew all about Brennan's feelings for her. She just...maybe it was a case of not being able to face what was right in front of her or maybe she was just as scared of hurting him? Emma had stopped trying to read their minds a long time ago. It was an unspoken arrangement that she wouldn't. But, and occasionally she wished it wasn't so she couldn't help hearing what they were feeling. Downside of being telempathic. And right now she could sense the worry and anxiety of Adam. He cared so much and yet he couldn't do a thing.  
  
'I just...if it was a new mutant who intoxicated Brennan then, when did they get the opportunity to do such a thing?'  
  
Emma closed her eyes. They had all been hoping to keep the club thing a secret from Adam. With him gone from Sanctuary for a couple of days he had kinda left them in charge to keep a serious eye on things...serious being the operative word.  
  
'Emma, is there something you're not telling me?' Adam asked looking across at Emma's guilty face.   
  
'The night you were away...we all...we didn't think it would matter...just for a couple of hours...' Emma trailed off. She knew Adam would be pissed and really hadn't wanted to be the one to tell him.  
  
'Emma!'  
  
'We went to a club to wind down for a couple of hours. I mean seriously Adam all the pressure of saving the world. Occasionally we need to take a break,' she said quickly. She looked over at his face. He smiled back. He knew what she was talking about. He did put too much pressure on them, he knew that but sometimes it seemed that it was the only way to get things done. He should have let them go out more often. They were all in their 20's, this was what their lives should have been without the constant nagging worry of who was going to attack them next...  
  
'Adam, its not your fault.'  
  
He looked at the honest eyes of Emma. He smiled and nodded, knowing in his heart that she was right. He couldn't continue to blame himself for everything that went wrong that had something to do with new mutants. He had to try and find Shalimar and Brennan so he could help them, instead of wallowing in self pity.  
  
***  
  
Shalimar opened her eyes again as the door opened and a strong beam of light came flooding across the floor and onto her face. She squinted. The person wasn't Brennan, they were too small, in height and build. But if it wasn't Brennan then who the hell was it?  
  
Ali walked further into the room and flicked the light switch. The whole room was suddenly illuminated and she saw Shalimar lying in the middle of it. She had her eyes closed, attempting to get used to the bright light. Ali smirked as she walked across the floor, the door closing silently behind her. She walked past the table and further on into the room where there was a desk with a computer set up on it. She started typing information into the keyboard.   
  
Shalimar looked around her, trying to catch a glimpse of her captor. Or atleast that was who she assumed it was.   
  
'Shalimar Fox, feline feral,' Ali read off of the computer screen. She had managed to gain access to the Genomex computer files a long time ago. It had had all the information she had needed, information on all of the new mutants ever created, including Mutant X. She had heard about them of course but had never had the opportunity to meet them. And now she essentially had two of them hostage. She knew she was intelligent but she was outdoing herself on this one.  
  
'Yeah, what about it?' Shalimar was too tired to deal with this crap. She wanted out as soon as possible but first she wanted to know what this woman wanted with her...and what, if anything she had done to Brennan.   
  
'Original member of Mutant X huh? Very impressive.'  
  
'Like I said, what about it?'  
  
'You're impatient. You know you should really try calming down. Being so wound up all the time cannot be good for you.'  
  
Shalimar was bored already. Normally the bad guys could be counted on to have some kind of witty come-backs but this girl was just boring. 'I refuse to enter a battle of wits with you - its against my morals to attack an unarmed person.'  
  
She breathed in deeply as a sharp pain went shooting up the nerves in her arm. She lifted her head up and saw a deep cut in her arm, just above her elbow. Blood was pouring from it into a small bowl. Gradually the pain subsided.  
  
'See, I told you you could get hurt.'  
  
***  
  
Brennan watched on as Ali proceeded to collect Shalimar's blood. She hadn't told him her full plan yet but he didn't need to know. He didn't deserve to know. She was too good for him and he was just honoured to have been chosen by her to do her bidding. And that slut Shalimar deserved everything she got, including pain. 


	5. One hour Photos

This is a bit of a filler chapter, no real action, its leading up to that. I'm also still attempting to work out why Ali would take Shalimar in the first place. I think I've got it but any ideas/suggestions/orders would be great too. And Ace I promise to have someone kick Shalimar's ass a little more.  
  
Thanks for the reviews, please try to again, they are, as always appreciated. Also, just a quick request. If anyone knows when Mutant X is coming back to Sky One if they could let me know that would be great.   
  
Have a nice day.  
  
***  
  
Jesse practically jumped off his chair as he heard the lab door slide open. He didn't realize he had been so tired until his eyelids had started drooping. But he had forced himself to keep on looking through all the information they had, information that he himself had been through atleast five times already just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. But there was nothing and then his head had fallen against his chest and before he knew it he was waking up from an uncomfortable sleep where his head had been resting on the hard table.   
  
He brushed his hand through his hair trying to make himself look slightly less 'dragged through a hedge backwards' before turning around to see who was there. Emma stood, framed in the doorway a smile on her face. It was the first genuine one he had seen in a while and he allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up. She walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Jesse, hoping to provide him with some sense of comfort. She knew he was worried and scared for Shalimar but he was gonna end up killing himself if he kept on like this.   
  
'Found anything else?'  
  
'No. I was just checking Shalimar's blood again.' He looked at her puzzled expression. 'I didn't expect to find anything.'  
  
'Nothing like grabbing at straws to get rid of all the hope in a room.'  
  
They looked at each other and then Jesse pulled Emma into a tight hug. They broke apart when Adam walked into the room. He looked flushed, excited.   
  
'What's up Adam?' asked Emma.  
  
'I think I might have found something.'  
  
***  
  
Ali looked up as the door opened. She saw the tall, dark and handsome man enter and as he closed the door behind him she took the opportunity to run her eyes up and down his body. He was incredibly sexy...she knew she had singled him out for a reason.   
  
She remembered him when he had been in the club. He hadn't been dancing, she really couldn't see him doing that. He had been standing at the bar, a beer in one hand, watching the people on the dance floor. Two of his friends had been playing pool and the other one, the blonde one, the one to whom his gaze was directed had been dancing and flirting with pretty much every man in the club who dared approach her. It was the feral thing. They all had certain traits, the felines was the letting off of certain chemicals that floated around waiting for someone of the opposite sex to come along and be infected so to speak.   
  
Taking advantage of the absence of his teammates Ali had approached him. She had flirted with him a little, he had brought her a couple of drinks and then when she was sure he was wasted enough she had lured him outside, using her own less than feral charms. She had seduced him and before she or he knew it they were making out in a back alley. The noise of the music from inside the club had floated outside and the vibrations the beat caused could still be felt. She had sucked the humanity out of him there and then.   
  
Obviously the effects of the alcohol had stunted the procedure. It hadn't taken affect till the next morning and she had seen it as an unexpected setback but it looked like it had turned out to be beneficial. He had managed to get one of the new mutants from Mutant X out of their base without any trouble. Sure she had put up a fight but she had nothing on her Brennan.  
  
He turned around and she raised her eyebrows and smiled. He smiled back but it didn't seem genuine. It was more of a smirk. She had seen him smirking at the bar but he had also smiled openly, taking no heed as to whether or not he looked like an idiot. Of course he didn't but that wasn't the point. And he had smiled most often when looking at the blonde.   
  
She wasn't jealous. The only reason Ali wanted Brennan was because she didn't want to get her hands dirty. The fact that he was gorgeous had just made it easier. And him being a new mutant as well. He could be recycled.  
  
***  
  
'Have we checked speed cameras along the main road?' Adam asked the panic and urgency apparent in his voice. He looked at Jesse and Emma waiting for an answer. Jesse spun round in his chair and started typing furiously on the computers keypad. Within seconds he was tapping into the city's database and checking the local main roads for any video feed they might have simply lying around. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner. He had just been so wrapped up in the fact that Shalimar was gone that he hadn't thought any of it through, he hadn't been thinking clearly.   
  
He felt Emma's hand on his arm. Without looking up he knew she had concern in her big blue eyes. He didn't know who she was more concerned for, Shalimar, Brennan, or him.   
  
After five minutes of hacking Jesse managed to download the video feed off of the speed cameras on the main roads near Sanctuary. He started to narrow down the field starting with a one hour long window around the time Brennan and Shalimar would have been passing.   
  
'It might take a little while Adam,' Jesse pointed out.   
  
'Okay,' Adam said. He had nothing better to do but wait. 'What club did you say you went to?' he asked Emma.   
  
'Evolution. Its on Fifth and Carmichael.' Realization came to Emma. 'We didn't check the security cameras from there.'  
  
'Exactly,' Adam replied. If they could spot someone talking to Brennan then they could find out whether it was a new mutant or just someone with a grudge. And then, depending on which this person turned out to be they could match the face with the mutant database or police records or...anything like that.   
  
Emma could feel a wave of guilt and embarrassment that he hadn't thought of it sooner wash over her. Or maybe it wasn't Adam, maybe it was her feeling guilty, maybe it was her feeling embarrassed. She walked over to the computer on the opposite table and started hacking into the clubs computer system. Admittedly she wasn't as fast as Jesse but she got there eventually.   
  
She fast forwarded to the time slot when the team had been there. She could remember pretty clearly where everybody had been for most of the evening. Her and Jesse had alternated between the pool table, the bar and the dance floor while Shalimar had preferred to rid herself of some of the pent up energy of the week. With Adam gone training for most of the team had gone completely out of the window but Shal couldn't really help but train. It was like she needed to make up for the fact that she didn't go out hunting like the predator atleast half of her was every night. But she still had extra energy floating around inside her muscles which would normally come out in the form of kicking someone's ass. No one on the team had volunteered for that special honour. They had all learnt their lessons from past experiences.   
  
And Brennan had hung around at the bar for most of the night. He had been people watching...or atleast person watching. She couldn't believe that they still hadn't confronted their feelings for each other. She really wished they would get it over with sometimes. Once they got it out in the open they would stop bottling the emotions up. She didn't care if they argued through the intensity, their shouting wouldn't be nearly as loud as the mental messages they were throwing around.   
  
But Brennan had disappeared quite late on. She hadn't been paying attention, Jesse had been kicking her ass at pool and she had been trying to win back some of her dignity and pride. She had looked over at the bar and there Brennan was not. She hadn't thought anything of it. He had probably found some beautiful girl to go hang out with, yet again denying he felt anything towards Shalimar other than friendship.   
  
Emma squinted her eyes slightly. She was looking at a still-screen of the bar. Brennan was talking to a woman. They were both staring at the mass of bodies, sharing a drink. What with all the lights the woman's face wasn't too clear.   
  
'Hey Jess, any chance you could isolate a section of this image and make it a little clearer. I think I've spotted Brennan's friend.' 


	6. The not so great escape

I have now finished my exams so you can expect more updates. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.   
  
Thank you to Sunstar. I'm gonna be checking every week to make sure its not on before then but I appreciate the information. And also thank you to all the people who reviewed. I never expected such fantastic feedback for this fiction but you have all pleasantly suprised me.  
  
Anywho, I hope y'all enjoy.  
  
Have a nice day.  
  
***  
  
Brennan sat down on the chair on the other side of Ali's desk. The room was warm, inviting, old-fashioned. He liked it. All the wood was dark and most of the furniture looked antique. Ali walked over to one of the cabinets. She pulled open the doors and inside was a full set of security monitors. There were security cameras strategically placed all over the base. They were in every room excluding hers and covering the entire perimeter, not that anyone would ever find it anyway. It was completely hidden underground, a perfect secret lair.  
  
She flipped one of the monitors to Shalimar's room. The feral had fallen asleep, worn out from the events of the past couple of days. She then walked back to her seat and sat down, facing Brennan.  
  
Their eyes locked and she felt a chill creep up her spine. She loved her abilities, her gifts. She couldn't imagine living without them but sometimes it scared her to think, to see what she could do with her powers. The lack of humanity, of compassion in Brennan's eyes did it for her. She wasn't a sadist, she wasn't a sociopath, she just needed to do this. And if this was the only way of doing it then so be it, she was prepared to do whatever it took.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar struggled subtly against the bindings. She could see the blinking green light of the security camera with her peripheral vision. She knew the woman, whoever she was would be watching her every movement and she didn't have enough stored up energy to fight her way out of the complex. She was hoping against hope that maybe the brunette wasn't paying attention.  
  
She pushed her wrists up against the metal constraints but gave up after a couple of minutes when the pain became too much. She lifted her head off of the now lukewarm steel table and looked at the restraints. There was one other way she might manage to get out of them. She bent her elbows trying to pull her hands through the restraints. She concentrated on her right hand and tugged. Suddenly she heard a pop. A surge of pain shot through her body as her hand became dislocated from her wrist. She yelped in pain and then started tugging again. She knew that if she waited the pain would put her off completely.   
  
Eventually she managed to pull her hand through the restraint and she breathed deeply, not realizing that she had been holding her breath until the air hit her lungs. She relaxed, letting her breathing and heart beat return to a normal rate before reaching over as slowly as she could, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. She ran her hands over the steel, trying to find any kinks, any weaknesses in it. There was nothing she could detect. Looked like she was gonna have to dislocate both her hands. She gritted her teeth and started tugging.  
  
***  
  
Brennan felt empty. He wasn't too sure why, he just knew that he felt empty inside, like something was missing. But he couldn't work out what it was.   
  
Where the hell was he? He vaguely remembered the night they had all gone out clubbing. He could remember the first part of it anyway, the rest was kind of blurry. He looked across the desk to the woman opposite him. She looked kind of familiar but he couldn't place her face. He leaned back in the chair trying to locate the memories that were floating around in the back of his head that might give him some clue as to where he was, who the woman was and where the hell Sanctuary and the rest of Mutant X were?   
  
Ali tapped her burgundy fingernails against the top of the desk. She was waiting on a phone call but in the meantime was excruciatingly bored. She wanted a little fun, a buzz to go through her veins. She could easily get it from absorbing some of Brennan but it wasn't time yet. She drained too much of him and he was gonna get exhausted. And then she would have to do all the work herself.   
  
Brennan's eyes flicked around him. They settled on the monitors fitted in the cabinet. There were six of them, all but one displaying black and white images. One was in some kind of lab where scientists in their white coats mixed substances in test tubes and typed away at computer keypads. A couple of the others showed corridors, long and white and clean. They were nothing like the room he was currently occupying. There was no wood in those hallways, they had an air of coldness about them with just metal and the occasional hint of plastic. He looked at the screen in the bottom left hand corner. It showed green images, presumably the room was in darkness. In the middle of the shot he saw Shalimar and flashes started coming back to him. She was strapped to a table and he looked on as her right hand fumbled with the clasp around her left wrist. After a while she gave up and let her hand drop back against her side.   
  
Ali, noticing Brennan's sudden interest in the monitors turned in her chair. She looked at the one she was most interested in, the one displaying Shalimar. She was lying on the table, not moving. Ali was satisfied there was no way the feral was getting out of the restraints, let alone the compound. She turned back round and walked over to Brennan. Standing in front of him she leant in and whispered in his ear.  
  
'You look as bored as I feel. How bout we make this whole thing a little more exciting?'  
  
Brennan looked back at the screen. He was now completely back to his normal self and he wanted to help Shalimar but he had to keep Ali from seeing the screen.   
  
He grabbed her waist as they started kissing, his mouth pushed hard against hers. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he stood up and they managed to make their way to the sofa in the corner of the room. They fell down, Ali on top of Brennan, their legs intertwined, their bodies pushing against each other. As they started to fumble with each others clothes Shalimar got her other hand free and reached down to start working on the leg restraints.   
  
***  
  
Adam, Emma and Jesse stared hard at the image of a petite, brunette woman. She was gorgeous in a mysterious way and they could all tell why Brennan had been so attracted to her. The enhanced visuals showed the woman and Brennan talking and drinking for atleast an hour. They had then headed outside and after that nothing, until Brennan came back in. He didn't look any different, a little wobbly granted but that was probably down to the effects of the alcohol.   
  
On another computer the woman's image was being run through the new mutant database. Nothing had come up but they had only been searching for all of five minutes. Suddenly the computer started beeping and Jesse ran over. There was an image on the screen that fitted the woman's perfectly. The same red tinted brown hair, the same oval face with the strong cheekbones and sparkling, vibrant green eyes.  
  
'Alison Kamen. She's got a couple of aliases, Carrie Wood, Jordana Rodriguez but that appears to be her real name. She's an elemental, seems to be able to absorb the life force of other people.'  
  
'Atleast now we know how she 'infected' Brennan,' Adam said, his mind already thinking of ways to reverse the process.  
  
'It says here that its only temporary,' Jesse said, reading off the screen.  
  
'How long do the effects last?' Emma asked.  
  
'Not sure, depends on the person. And it seems that she has to top up. Its how she feeds.'  
  
'Like Caleb?'  
  
Jesse nodded. 'But, unlike Caleb she doesn't have any regenerative abilities.'  
  
Emma remembered back to the time when they had fought Caleb. She had technically died. It hadn't really affected her, more so Shalimar. She had been the one who had seen Emma when she wasn't breathing anymore. It was bound to screw a person up a little.  
  
'So she's been absorbing Brennan's life force to get him to do the dirty work for her,' Adam concluded.  
  
'And if it wears off then you don't even have to come up with an antidote,' Emma said, trying to inject some hope into the situation. They atleast knew what was keeping Brennan and Shalimar away and what was making Brennan act like such a psychopath. Now they just had to find them and then bring them back home.  
  
***  
  
Shalimar sat up slowly. She was stiff from lying down for so long and rolled her shoulders back trying to work the kinks from the muscles and joints. Her senses were fully functional, probably due to the pain in her arms but it meant it would be easier for her to get out of...wherever the hell she was.   
  
She heard footsteps coming down the hall towards her. She lay down and closed her eyes, waiting to see if whoever it was would enter the room.  
  
The door was slowly pushed open and a tall, blonde man stepped into the room. He flicked the light switch and walked over to Shalimar. He was holding a plastic glass of water. He placed it on a small table that he then wheeled across to where she lay. He reached across to Shalimar's arm and shook it slightly. Shalimar's arm moved quickly round to the back of him and she grabbed his gun. She pulled it out of its holster and held it pointed at his head before he even realized what was going on.  
  
'Undo those,' she said motioning at her leg restraints.   
  
He hesitated.  
  
'Now!'  
  
He walked round the table to her legs and pulled a pair of keys out of his back pocket. He slipped one of them into the lock and turned. The clasp came undone and flicked upwards. He then walked round and did the same to her other leg. As a reward she kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. She unloaded his gun, something she had learnt at Sanctuary. Adam had taught them how to work any weapon they might need, never encouraging them to use any. It had been helpful and she had on occasion used it to disarm GSAgents.  
  
She stood up and had to lean on the edge of the table in order to keep her balance. Stars and a multitude of colours floated before her eyes and she shook her head to get rid of the headrush she had gained from getting up too fast.   
  
She dropped the gun and pocketed the bullets. Her mind raced as she thought through her options.  
  
***  
  
Ali pulled her top over her head and shook her hair out. She leant over to zip up her boots and in doing so looked across at the computer monitors. She stopped, eyes wide, mouth open. Shalimar was gone.   
  
She cursed herself in her head for her stupidity at having taken her eyes off the feral.   
  
She turned around and looked at Brennan. He was pulling on his shoes but looked up as he felt her eyes boring into the top of his head.   
  
'She's gone.'  
  
Brennan had decided a while ago that he was going to play along with the whole being a psycho act, atleast until he could find Shal and get them the hell out of there.  
  
He fixed a grim look on his face. 'I'll retrieve her.'  
  
Ali nodded and turned to her desk as the phone started to ring.  
  
Brennan left the room quickly, closing the door behind him as a smile came to his face.   
  
'Go Shal,' he said quietly as he walked off in the direction of the lab. 


	7. Double Take

Not one of my best chapters but it'll have to do. I know nothing about science so any scientific references in this fiction will be extremely made up and glossed over as fast as is humanly possible so I don't come off sounding like a complete fool.  
  
Thank you for all the reviews. Please review after you have read this chapter. And any suggestions as to how to continue with the story will be appreciated. Also I promise to put more Adam, Jesse and Emma in the next couple of chapters.  
  
Have a nice day.  
  
***  
  
The phone rang and Ali's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten what the time was in all the panic of losing Shalimar. She turned and walked back to her desk like she was leading the procession to her own funeral.  
  
  
  
She reached out reluctantly to the handset and lifted it off its cradle. She held the phone to her ear dreading the questions she knew would come eventually.   
  
'Hello,' Ali said tentatively into the mouthpiece.  
  
'Ms Kamen, how nice to hear from you.' The voice chilled her blood and sent a shiver up and down her spine.   
  
'Yeah, you too.'  
  
'Whatever. Is everything going as planned?'  
  
Ali wasn't quite sure what to say to the question. The majority of things were going as planned. And she didn't want to raise any concern unduly. Brennan would have Shalimar back in her 'cell' in no time. She wasn't at full strength, there was no way she was getting out of the building.  
  
'Everything is absolutely fine here. And at your end?'  
  
'You think you need to know that?...You're wrong.'  
  
The dial tone came through loud and clear and Ali hung up the phone quietly. She had gotten away with it for now but she knew that lying wouldn't work a second time.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar walked along one of the many corridors. They all looked the same, bare, white, clean walls, ditto for the floors and strip lights in the ceiling.   
  
'I'm lost.'  
  
She breathed in deeply through her nose trying to smell anything that would tell her where she was and where the exit was. A familiar scent wafted past her nostrils. It was a mixture of sweat and Hugo Boss perfume.   
  
'Me. That's what I can smell...me. Guess I've been down this corridor before.'  
  
She carried on walking trying to remember which turning she had taken when she had been there before. She decided to take the left and continued walking until she reached a whole row of doors.   
  
'New stuff,' she said to herself with a hint of pride in her voice.  
  
Small panes of glass were inlaid into each door and as she passed them she looked in. The first few rooms were labs with scientists and microscopes and plenty of colourful test tubes. They were, like the corridors white and clean looking.   
  
The fourth room she came to contained a chair like one that would normally be found in a dentists. Sitting on the chair was a girl. She looked like she was slim but Shalimar couldn't really see due to the hospital gown the girl was wearing. She looked drained and lifeless but the machines attached to her were telling a different story. She was definitely alive, just tired or unconscious.   
  
Shalimar's curiosity was peaked but she had to get moving before someone came along and found her. She turned away from the door and started walking further down the hall. She came to a sudden halt as a shiver inducing scream assaulted her ears. She looked around her, panicked. Her senses started working on overtime and she could smell the scent of fear and blood. She made her way further along the hall to the place the scent seemed to be issuing from. She came to a door and saw a small boy. He was also hooked up to a collection of machines and monitors but scientists seemed to be buzzing around him. He looked drained, like the girl but he would occasionally twitch. She saw a river of blood flow from his arm into a bowl. Looked like whatever the hell was going on was a mass operation.   
  
***  
  
Brennan walked along the hallway trying to work out where Shalimar would go. If only he had her sense of smell he could have found her a lot easier. She would obviously have been trying to get out of the complex but whether she could was debatable. The corridors all ran into each other and he had no idea when he had learnt all about it. It was presumably something that he had picked up from Ali when she worked her mojo on him.  
  
He rounded a corner and saw a group of security guards walking straight towards him. There were five of them, all armed with tasor guns. His initial instinct was to run as fast as he could before he remembered that he was undercover. He walked past them haughtily but they called him back.   
  
Panic swept through him as he realized they must have found out what he was doing and who he really was.  
  
'You looking for the blonde escapee?' the tallest guy asked.  
  
'Yeah. She can't be allowed to get out of here. I was sent by Ms Kamer.' Brennan attempted to put as little expression into his voice, trying to keep up the pretense that he was one of the bad guys.  
  
'Take this,' the guy said, handing Brennan a walky talkie. 'If you find the feral call us for backup.' The group turned on their heel and walked away from Brennan.  
  
He breathed out as he watched them go and then turned and went off in his own direction at a jog, determined to find Shalimar before they did.  
  
***  
  
She didn't know how long she had been staring for. It was like time had stopped and all that mattered was the boy. She was mesmerized by the morbidity of what she was seeing. She knew he was a new mutant. It was like she could sense something about him, something that stood out from all the rest of the people in the room.   
  
She grabbed her head as pain went coursing through it, bouncing off one side of her skull, rebounding off another milliseconds later. Images flashed in front of her. They were blurred and even if they had been clear they were all moving so fast she couldn't separate them. She fell to her knees as the pain increased. The images were so confused. One second there would be a child playing with a ball in a garden, then blood pouring from unseen orifices would flash across. Just as suddenly as they had all come, the pain disappeared, the pleasant home movie stopped. But the damage had been done. She stood up as the alarms started blaring. She ran, not knowing where to, not really caring as long as she got out of there.  
  
She heard the shouts of security guards behind her and felt the vibrations of their feet through the floor beneath her. But her senses were slightly dulled from the mind wackiness that had just taken place. She turned around, still running to make sure that no one was following her.   
  
Shalimar ran straight into Brennan as he walked around the corner. She looked like she had gone completely out of her mind with worry and anxiety. She backed away a couple of feet, wanting to put as much distance between her and the enemy as was possible. And she had accepted the fact that Brennan was, for now, possibly forever the enemy. She looked up at his face and into his deep brown eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the eyes of the old Brennan, her Brennan.   
  
'You okay?' he asked breathlessly. He had been running for some time trying to find Shalimar in the vast network of tunnels.  
  
'No time.' Her point was emphasized as five security guards ran round the corner. They raised their tasers and dashed down the hallway, throwing caution to the wind in their desperation to catch the feral. Brennan prepared to run. He could see that Shalimar was too weary and hurt to fight. But Shalimar took up a defensive position.  
  
'Shal, what are you doing?'  
  
'There are people, new mutants in those rooms. I don't know what these people want with them but I'm getting them out of here.'  
  
He sighed, knowing that once Shalimar's mind was made up there was no changing it. He walked just in front of her, wanting to make sure that if anyone had to bear the brunt of the fight it was gonna be him. He charged up a ball of electricity and sent it flying towards the group. Two of them were propelled through the air as the remaining three looked on in horror and disbelief.   
  
By the time they had gotten over what had happened to their colleagues Shalimar had knocked them all out with swift kicks and punches to their heads and chests.   
  
She walked along the corridor quickly, knowing that backup would be there in a matter of minutes. She had ran past a few doors when she had seen the security guards and made her way back past them to see what was going on, though she had a feeling they would all be exactly the same. The second one she looked into was dark.  
  
She creased her brow as she pushed open the door cautiously. Here eyes glowed as she looked around.  
  
Brennan walked down the hallway, opening the doors into the labs and scaring the scientists with a couple of sparks. He looked at the child attached to the chair. Finding the keys in the pocket of one of the scientists he inserted one of them into the lock and undid the restraints. The child was too scared to move and Brennan held out his hand. But he didn't have time to wait for the kid to get his second wind so he slid his arms under his neck and knees and lifted the boy out of the chair. He walked out of the room as quickly as he could and went to free all the other new mutants. It appeared like the operation was in its earliest stages and they hadn't managed to capture many. Two boys, three girls. They all needed a certain amount of encouragement that he was actually helping them but they were nowhere near as far gone as the boy.   
  
Shalimar walked towards a bed that was placed in the middle of the room. She could make out a shape in the dark and walked towards it till she was standing over whoever it was. She looked down into the eyes that looked right back up at her. Shock overwhelmed Shalimar and she stepped back unable to process what she was seeing.   
  
Brennan walked into the room and balancing the boy in his arms he flicked the lightswitch. Bright white filled the room and Brennan was forced to blink a few times until his eyes became accustomed to it. He looked across at Shalimar. She was standing a foot away from a table staring down at...Shalimar. 


	8. Duh!

Hi everybody.  
  
Sorry I haven't updated in like the longest time. I've been on holiday so fan fictions weren't my first priority...sorry bout that.  
  
I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do with this story yet. Obviously Alison has to be in some way defeated...but then there's her boss...so many angles...if anyone has any suggestions they would of course be much appreciated and you will get a cookie...a big one.  
  
Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story and reviewing...to those of you who haven't, what were you thinking? You had better start now or no cookies for you!  
  
Have a nice day.  
  
***  
  
Fingers flew over three different keypads, each typing in their own individual information, trying to get the same conclusive answer to the question. Three pairs of eyes were squinting at three computer monitors, the bodies wanting to sleep, the minds desperately attempting to prevent that. They had each gone through atleast five cups of coffee in the last two hours and so far, although they had managed to narrow down the area in which they suspected they would locate Shalimar and Brennan they still had nothing precise, nothing that could be counted as reliable.   
  
Emma leant back in her chair. Her back and neck were aching and she suspected she would be mildly deformed when the mission was over. She stood up and walked quietly out of the room towards the pool in the middle of the Sanctuary complex. She could hear the waters slowly moving before she saw the pool and the plants surrounding it. She walked out onto the walkway and sat down crossing her legs in front of her. She hadn't tried finding Brennan or Shalimar telempathically for a while and figured it was worth a shot. If the 'spell', the hold Alison had over Brennan was only temporary it might have worn off and Emma would have a much better chance of finding him. Shalimar might have woken up. It all rested on a lot of maybes but they were getting closer so slowly using computers, it was so completely frustrating.   
  
Emma's shoulders drooped a little as she breathed deeply and closed her eyes. She rolled her shoulders back and sat up straight, her arms relaxed, resting lightly on her bent knees. She breathed again, trying to clear all emotions from her mind, trying to make everything less fuzzy.   
  
Her body gave a little jolt as she entered what appeared to be Brennan's mind. He was looking at a medical bed but Emma didn't have time to waste wondering where that was. She needed to move out a little bit, just so she could pick up on the building. The picture in her head, which was running like an old film seemed to go into rewind. Everything moved backwards so fast she only managed to get flashes. Brennan walking along a corridor...a red haired woman who Emma managed to make out as Alison...and then she was outside. She slowed down the rewind a little bit and could just about make out a building. But she needed a road name or a landmark, something that they could head towards.   
  
And then she saw it, Stormking Mountain. All the searching and Brennan and Shalimar had been right under their noses. She broke the connection.  
  
***  
  
The ends of Jesse's fingers went white he was gripping the steering wheel so hard. After having found out the location of Shalimar and Brennan he had been desperate to get there as soon as possible. Emma had already worked out that Brennan wasn't still under the hold of Alison but that had been atleast ten minutes ago, he could have been turned into a psychopath by now. And if he wasn't he could be in as much danger as Shalimar.   
  
Jesse had always been protective of Shalimar even when he didn't need to be, granted that was most of the time but he couldn't stop. He knew better than most that what she presented to the world quite a bit of the time was an act, a good act. She didn't let a lot of people penetrate the surface. She hadn't meant to let Jesse. He had caught her one night thinking about her family, about how her father had rejected her as soon as he found out about her mutation, how her mother had died giving birth to the one thing that could split her entire family apart. She had needed someone to talk to and Jesse had been the only candidate. She had let him in and ever since they had been like brother and sister, sharing most things no matter how stupid. He wanted to protect her from everything that life had to throw at her. And Brennan had thrown, knowingly or not his foot at her chin. Jesse had to know she was okay.   
  
Emma could tell exactly what was on Jesse's mind without even using her abilities. She figured he was worrying about Shalimar and her situation enough for both of them so let her mind wander back to the images she had seen and the feelings she had been getting off Brennan.  
  
When he had broken through the spell that Alison had had on him he had been terrified, scared for himself and Shalimar. But there had been this moment of pride, this great swell. She had no idea why, she had been rewinding at that point but she guessed it probably had something to do with Shal. Which was a definite sign that hope was still there. Everybody else in the team could give it all up but Emma had to believe that there was hope, the smallest glimmer in every moment.  
  
Adam watched Jesse and Emma's progress from the vantage point of the Helix. He was worried too but also slightly curious. After reading up on Alison a little bit more he had found that she had studied science all through her life and was pretty damn good at it. She had won scholarships to study at most of the decent universities in America and had ended up at Stanford. He was interested to find out what she had been working on. He was also scared for the lives of Brennan and Shalimar but his curiosity as a scientist was peaked.   
  
And as always in filtered the guilt. He always got like that whenever a new mutant was threatening the lives of anyone. And normally he would have Shalimar to tell him to stop feeling so guilty and start working on helping other people but she wasn't there and he had been allowing himself way to much time to wallow in his own self pity.  
  
'Can you guys see anything?' he asked over his com-link.  
  
'I've got some tracks Adam and we appear to be in about the right position,' Jesse replied taking an opportunity to glance across the water to Stormking Mountain. Emma was also looking. She knew it wasn't really the appropriate time but she had never before appreciated the beauty of the place she called home. The setting sun was bathing the cliff face in golden light and the waves that slowly poured onto the rocks below reflected the whole beautiful scene. It made Emma even more determined to get Shalimar back, just so she would get an opportunity to see the view.   
  
***  
  
Brennan looked on, his eyes wide. They had both been standing there looking at the figure on the bed for atleast half a minute. He couldn't quite get over what it was he was seeing. She looked exactly like Shalimar in every way; same blonde hair with its soft waves, the light glinting off it; the same athletic physique. But she wasn't Shalimar and he had to get the genuine article out of there before Ali and her security guards caught up with them both. He walked over to Shalimar version 1.  
  
'Shal, we have to get out of here now.' She turned around and looked at him as if she had forgotten he was there.   
  
'Shal...' She was completely shell shocked.  
  
'We're taking her with us,' she said, determination evident in her voice.  
  
'Shal, I don't think that's such a good idea. We haven't got the time to take her and the other new mutants with us and what are you planning on doing with her when she wakes up anyway?'  
  
But his words fell on deaf ears as Shalimar leant over and hoisted Shalimar version 2 onto her shoulder. She walked out of the room leaving Brennan to roll his eyes and follow her.   
  
She strode along the corridor and passed five new mutants, all of them ranging from late childhood to early adolescence, all of them looking weary but grateful to be leaving the place which was going to make copies of them. They all stared at Shalimar as she walked past with her 'twin' draped over her shoulder. She didn't pay them any attention however as she looked around her, her eyes glowing.   
  
She looked to the end of the hallway as a red-head made her way round the corner. 


	9. Light at the end of the tunnel

I know its been so damn long for this update. I had exams, and then I had results, and then I had the whole self-pity thing cos I didn't do brilliantly. Took up a lot of my time.   
  
Anyway a new chapter is here now. I hope you all enjoy it. I would hardly go so far as to call it one of my best, in fact I think its crap but if you want to review and let me know then I would be extremely grateful (and if you say its not crap I'll know that you're lying).  
  
Thank you all for reading this bloody awful rubbish (I've only been drinking a little bit and all the best artists do anyway...).  
  
Have a bloody wonderful day.  
  
***  
  
The car drew to a stop on the hard shoulder of the road and Jesse and Emma got out as quickly and quietly as they could. They had been checking the view of the mountain every couple of minutes and had been trying to decide where they should stop. For obvious reasons they didn't want to stop right outside the place where Shalimar and Brennan were being held. And then Emma had received a hit. They were close.  
  
The sun was just disappearing over the edge of the trees behind them and it bathed the water in front of them with a golden light.   
  
But Jesse and Emma had no time for such beautiful things. They walked forward and as they did the feelings of fear and anxiety and anger became stronger, more intense. Emma could feel it all building up inside of her until it threatened to spill over the top.  
  
'They're here.'  
  
'Where? I don't see anything.' He leant against the rock face that went along one side of the road and looked at Emma as she did the same. He edged around the rock to look through the trees and peered into them trying to locate anything that looked like the kind of place that two members of Mutant X would be held up in. But there was nothing.  
  
He ducked back behind the rock and looked at Emma who had her eyes closed. She was casting around for a link. If she could get a hold of Shalimar or Brennan she could try and make them show her where exactly they were.  
  
'Jesse, Emma,' came a voice as if out of nowhere. They both jumped before realizing that it was Adam over their comlinks.  
  
'Yeah?' Jesse replied. Adam had followed the car in the Helix. The plan was that when Emma narrowed down the field Adam would scan it and if the building was under some sort of shield he would be able to detect it.  
  
'I've been scanning around you guys and there's no forcefield. So I switched to the heat sensitive scanners. There's a pretty big area just beyond where you are that's a lot colder than the rest of the ground. I think the place is underground' Jesse and Emma exchanged glances. They were that bit closer to finding their teammates. 'There's a small structure just through the trees that is right over the building that we're looking for. That's probably your way in.'  
  
'Okay, we're gonna go find it. If this place is half as secretive as we think it is then there's gonna be some kind of security system, probably cameras so we're going to be noticed before we get close.'  
  
'I'm tapping into the security system but it might take a while. I could really do with you here Jesse.'  
  
Jesse smiled and turned to look back at Emma. She shot him a look and he turned back again remorse on his face and a giggle in his throat. Keeping close to the floor they both edged out into the open.  
  
***  
  
Shalimar's eyes immediately glowed. Her muscles tensed and she was ready. If this woman wanted a fight then she was sure as hell gonna get one. Her legs bent and she lowered herself to the floor. Once there she placed the other her on the ground. She took an opportunity to look at her.   
  
A part of her wanted to destroy the creation. It was the product of something that wasn't meant to exist. But then the other part of her reminded her that so was she. Genomex should never have existed and neither should she, atleast not the way she did. She felt a sense of pity for Shalimar 2. She would be confused if she woke up, she wouldn't understand what had happened, she would need to have it explained to her. The reasons for her being the way she was had never been explained to Shalimar until she had met Adam and become the founding member of Mutant X. She didn't want it to be the same for this new individual.  
  
  
  
Her eyes looked up and found the red headed woman and then her legs straightened and she was standing, ready once again to fight.  
  
Brennan knew there was no way he was going to be able to stop Shalimar from fighting Alison. The only sensible thing to do would be to get the kids out of there and then come back to get Shalimar out before she killed someone. He ushered them away from the blonde woman and back down the hallway. He didn't know anything about the building so it suprised him when he could picture the door, that was just a couple of corridors away. He didn't really care how he remembered this, it was probably from when he had been hypnotized, all he knew was he had to get the kids out of the building, to safety.   
  
Shalimar heard the patter of feet disappearing down the hallway along with Brennan's slightly louder stomp. He would be back. But by then, she was confident there would be no situation.   
  
Brennan rounded the corner and looked towards the exit door at the end. Four guards stood there, tasers at their sides and they started to walk towards Brennan the second they saw him. Clearly the whole building was on high alert.  
  
Making sure that all the children were safely behind him he carefully placed the boy he had been holding in his arms on the floor. He still wasn't capable of standing and slid down the wall till he was sitting on the white linoleum. Brennan lifted up his arm and felt the surge of power move up it till it was in his hand. As is he was throwing a frisbee he drew his arm in and then released it out, towards the men. One of them flew backwards into the door and as he hit it it flew open with a loud boom which echoed around the halls. The other three hit the walls as they were lifted off the ground by the force of Brennan's blow and landed. They lay completely still and Brennan picked up the boy again and ushered the children through the door.   
  
***  
  
Adam had been trying to hack into the security system ever since he had located it but so far it was proving impossible. He may have been a genius but his skills were no where near as solid as Jesse's. He could see Jesse and Emma making their way towards the building and figured it was too late to do anything now. If they were going to be spotted it would have happened already. He steered the Helix towards a clearing in the woods and brought her down to land.   
  
He opened up the door and walked out into the brightness of the setting sun. The world seemed so quiet, there were a couple of birds singing in the trees around him and he could hear the faint lapping of the waves against the shore.   
  
When he had been looking for a location for Sanctuary all those years ago he had wanted something a little different. He was a fugitive, on the run from Genomex and Mason Eckhart. He had a list, stolen from Genomex of every new mutant that he had ever been involved with. That happened to include most of them, though he would later find out that there were more in other secret government locations across the country. He had needed somewhere that was secret, safe from Genomex and the rest of the world, just in case the news that there were new mutants ever broke and the new mutants in question had to run for cover.  
  
Shalimar Fox had always been someone he wanted on his side as opposed to theirs. She was one of the most powerful ferals ever created and he knew that her powers and her skills would grow as she became older and more confident within herself. When he had first brought her back to Sanctuary she had loved it, as a building within its own right and for the security it represented. She had fitted right in and he knew then that Sanctuary was a permanent home for them both.   
  
By this time Adam had made his way through the thickest of the trees. He pulled up short as he saw movement just ahead of him. People were appearing as if from the ground. Adam dodged their gaze behind a tree but instantly moved out from behind its cover as he heard a familiar voice.  
  
'Adam,' Brennan called. He moved the children as quickly and quietly over to where Adam was standing as he could. He had to get them out before the guards woke up and so he could run back inside to help Shalimar, if she even needed it.   
  
'Where are Jesse and Emma?' Brennan asked.  
  
'They were trying to find a way in last time I heard from them.' Adam paused. He had completely forgotten that Brennan had been the one who had brought Shalimar to this place in the first place. He seemed like he was back to his old self but Adam couldn't be sure.  
  
'I'm fine, I just wanna make sure that she is too,' Brennan said, seemingly knowing what Adam was thinking.  
  
Adam nodded and took the boy out of Brennan's arms. The small group started moving away from the building and Adam looked back as Brennan disappeared into the ground. 


	10. Someday

As always I'm incredibly sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been doing actual work...shocking I know. I like to keep you all on your toes.   
  
I hope its worth the wait. Its a long chapter but that doesn't necessarily mean its any good so you'll all have to let me know...hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Reviews please.   
  
There's only one chapter left. I promise there will at some point be a sequel but at the moment this story is becoming dangerously boring and to me atleast its getting a bit samey. So I'm going to come back to it but I thought I might write some other stuff first just to get a little bit of perspective or something. I promise it'll be soon though so all my faithful fans (of there are any) don't be too worried.  
  
Thank you for reading.  
  
Have a nice day.   
  
***  
  
Alison felt the cold, steel of the gun that she had shoved into the back of her trousers before coming to meet Shalimar and Brennan. She knew how powerful and dangerous they both were, it was the reason why they had been chosen by her boss to be a part of the experiment.   
  
She remembered the first day she had found out about the project. She had received a call and was mystified by what had been said (something along the lines of she was the right person for the job, it would be a great opportunity for her to fulfil her potential as a new mutant). She had never told anybody what she was. Anonymity was like an electric fence for her, just as it was for most new mutants. If nobody knew what she was, where she came from then they couldn't hurt her and she would be safe. So the fact that somebody knew and didn't want to destroy her like Mason Eckhart had with all Genomexs' creations had intrigued her.   
  
She had met with a man who talked to her honestly about a plan to get back at the creators of new mutants. Then she had gone home and had pushed the matter to the back of her mind. She had gone on living the way she always had, watching her back just in case but generally giving no further thought to her gift.  
  
And then she had started receiving files at her house. They always came without a stamp or a postmark in a big brown envelope and the files were always those of new mutants, some of them young and weak, some older and stronger than her. She received these envelopes at exactly the same time on the first day of each month and she kept getting them for atleast eight months. Then there was one last envelope. It gave her a location and blue prints, alarm codes, everything she needed for the building to be hers.   
  
And a year later she was running that building. It had all happened so fast she didn't really know what was going on but once she got to where she was she understood that this was her mission in life. She had hacked into the Genomex computers and found out all the information she needed to know that hadn't been obtained from the files sent to her. She got a call once a week from a man she had never seen who checked on her progress. It was all very simple until she had kidnapped the last two people on the list: Shalimar Fox and Brennan Mulwray.  
  
The first six new mutants were children, their abilities weren't fully developed, they were easier to handle but Shalimar and Brennan were, to some extent heroes. They had saved a lot of people and trained with and without their abilities. They were skilled fighters and so the prospect had always been a lot more daunting. But they were required for the project. Her boss wanted readings from all ranges of abilities from the most powerful to the least. And after he had given her such huge opportunities in life, after he had given her a chance to turn her world around and do something that could make a difference who was she to deny him anything.   
  
So she had set her plan and they had walked right into it.   
  
And now they were causing her more trouble than they were worth. She could have gone out and abducted two more new mutants who were only slightly less powerful than them and they would have lain down and taken it all.   
  
But she was going to finish it now. She knew Brennan would be out of the building, the other test subjects too. But she had all the information she needed from them. The last experiments had happened that very day, so Shalimar, no matter what she did to Alison couldn't stop the inevitable.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar sniffed the air around her silently. She was picking up so many different scents. She could still smell the fear of the children, and she was getting a slight whiff of Brennan's aftershave. The redhead was wearing an unidentifiable perfume and it mixed with Shalimar's own scent.   
  
She continued to look at Alison, not entirely sure what she was going to do. Obviously it would involve Shalimar kicking her ass but who was going to make the first move and when they were going to make it was still undecided. Normally Shalimar would have been punching and kicking the enemy into a pulp by now but she was still weary and slightly dopey from the drugs. She was awake enough to see that Alison was wary of her, maybe even scared.   
  
Shalimar turned and her fist moved like lightning straight into the nose of the security guard who had been sneaking up on her for the past couple of minutes. As his hands went up to his face to try and quell the pain she lifted her right leg and slammed it into his stomach. He fell, his feet lifting off the ground until he smashed into the floor. His hands fell to his sides and his head tipped slightly as he lost consciousness.   
  
Shalimar felt a sharp surge of pain in the back of her head and her knees hit the floor with force but she immediately flipped herself over back onto her feet. Turning around she saw Alison's fist sailing towards her face but Shalimar was too quick and blocked it. She raised her left leg into Alison's side and Ali emitted a slight groan.   
  
But Shalimar had underestimated her and as Alison went down she swept her leg along the floor, knocking Shalimar off her feet. The wind was knocked from her and her back smashed into the ground. Within seconds Alison was pointing the barrel of her gun at Shalimar's head.   
  
Shalimar breathed in sharply as time seemed to slow down until everything froze. This gun thing was an entirely new experience for her having never been held up by one before. It wasn't that she wasn't scared, it was just...interesting.   
  
This woman was still gonna get her ass kicked but Shalimar had to give her snaps for effort.   
  
Alison looked up just as she was hit by the bolt of lightning that spread from Brennan's fingertips.   
  
***  
  
'Emma, Jesse, where are you?'  
  
'We're just approaching the building on ground level that will lead us into the main compound. No sign of any guards yet.'  
  
'Don't worry about getting into the building. I just saw Brennan, he's fine, he went back to get Shalimar. The Helix is full so they'll have to go back in the car with you guys.'  
  
The two exchanged looks, wondering if Brennan was really telling the truth or if he was just a good actor. Adam seemed to believe him but how could he really tell.   
  
'Where are we going to pick him and Shalimar up from?' Jesse asked, prepared, for the moment to give Brennan the benefit of the doubt.   
  
'There's an entrance to the right of the building you're standing outside of. Brennan went in there, chances are they'll be coming back out that way. Get there as soon as possible. I'm not taking off until I know you're all safe.'  
  
They immediately started running towards the side entrance, finding it easily enough.   
  
'So,' began Jesse, 'I guess we just...wait.'  
  
'Yeah,' replied Emma. 'I guess so.'  
  
***  
  
Shalimar let go of a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Air filled her lungs and she sat up, turning sharply as she heard a noise behind her. She saw Brennan walking towards her, a look of fear and guilt on his face.   
  
He couldn't hear a thing other than Shalimar's breathing. He had been so scared for her, seeing Alison pointing a gun at her head. He didn't think he had been that frightened in his entire life. He held out his hand to help her up and she took it.   
  
She forced her limbs to work as she pushed herself off the ground. It was like she was watching herself, it was like the real her had jumped out of her body and was watching from somewhere, watching as her detached body got up. And then just as quickly the real her hopped back into her body, jolted by the sound of distant footsteps getting gradually closer.   
  
The noise seemed to wake both of them up and they took off running down the hallway in the direction of the door out of there.   
  
Shalimar came to a sudden stop. She turned her head to look back at the clone of her. She was still lying on the floor, looking so helpless and vulnerable. Brennan grabbed her arm as she made a motion as if to go back.  
  
'Shalimar, we don't have time.'  
  
'Brennan, I can't just leave her there...'   
  
'Yes, you can,' Brennan interrupted firmly.  
  
Shalimar looked into his dark brown eyes and, breathing a deeply reluctant sigh turned and ran with him, just as a group of burly security guards rounded into the hallway.   
  
***  
  
'We've been standing here for atleast five minutes. I think we should go in and see what's happening.'  
  
'Jesse, wait. I sense both of them and there doesn't seem to be anything horribly wrong. Maybe they just got caught up.'  
  
Emma took Jesse's hand. She knew he was worried but she had to think about everybody's safety. If Jesse went charging into the building he could get hurt and seriously jeopardize Shalimar and Brennan's chances of getting out in one piece.   
  
Jesse held onto Emma's hand. He knew she was trying to help him and calm him down but he didn't like playing the waiting game and he was getting frustrated not knowing what was going on inside the building.   
  
Just then he saw a blonde head appearing from the ground. He ran over to her and helped her up. As soon as Shalimar saw him she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him. Her eyes closed, and for that moment she forgot all her troubles. Jesse had always been able to do that to her. He was always looking towards this better future that he was sure would come someday. She had become so cynical that she couldn't think like that and he reminded her that not everything sucked all the time.   
  
They were pried apart by Brennan and Emma who were still tuned into the real world. The guards were getting closer and the team had to get out of there.   
  
'Adam, we're just getting to the car. You should take off now,' said Emma into her Comlink as they took off running through the trees.   
  
'Have you got Shalimar and Brennan with you?'  
  
'Would we leave them behind?' Jesse asked, smiling at Shalimar as he did so.   
  
All four of them slid into the car and within seconds Jesse had found the keys and stuck them in the ignition.  
  
Shalimar watched out of the back window as Jesse drove off. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief in leaving behind the place that had kept her captive for quite possibly the worst couple of days of her life. But there was also a feeling of guilt in leaving behind Shalimar version 2 and all the information that those people would need to make copies of all the other new mutants that had been held there. She felt like she had failed all of the kids. They had been through something terrible and even if they were placed safely in the underground, there was still the chance that they might walk into themselves one day. There was still the possibility that she might walk into herself one day. 


	11. Aftermath

This is the last chapter of this part of the story. I know there is stuff that needs to be resolved but as I said before there will be a follow-up to this story as soon as I start getting interesting again...if ever I was in the first place.   
  
Please review as I need some kind of motivation to start on a sequel otherwise I'll forget all about it.   
  
I hope you all enjoyed or-even better-found it interesting reading my fanfiction.   
  
Have a nice day.  
  
***  
  
Emma flopped onto the bed in Jesse's room. The whole team was tired and both Brennan and Shalimar, fed up with all the testing that Adam was putting them through had retired to their rooms to try and get some sleep. Emma knew they hadn't been able to but atleast they were slightly more relaxed.   
  
Jesse opened his eyes. He also had been trying to get some sleep. Over the past couple of days he had been staring at a computer screen for more hours than any person should have to. He felt a serious headache coming on and, in an attempt to quell the pain had gone to the quiet of his room. He looked at Emma's face. She looked tired too. All the worrying hadn't been good for anyone.   
  
'How you doing?' he asked quietly.  
  
'I'm doing okay,' she replied unconvincingly. Jesse looked at her with a smirk. 'Fine, so I'm not completely okay. Those kids went through a lot, I just feel for them I guess. Plus I'm worried about how Shalimar's dealing with it all.'  
  
'How do you mean?'  
  
'Brennan, one of the few people she thinks she can trust in this world, and he turned on her. I get that it wasn't his choice, he had no control over his actions but I just think its gonna change things.'  
  
Jesse had to admit the thought had crossed his mind. After Brennan had beaten him to a pulp in that prison he had found it hard to let it go. One of your best friends turning on you was a hard thing to get over. But he was sure that Brennan and Shalimar would move past it. They were great friends, they understood each other and he couldn't for one second imagine them letting one thing, no matter how serious pull them apart forever.  
  
'They'll be alright,' he said with confidence.  
  
Emma smiled. She hoped he was right.   
  
***  
  
Adam looked at the computer screen. He knew he should have taken Emma's advice when she told him to go and get some sleep. His eyes were burning and his head was aching. But he couldn't stop. It was like he was on autopilot. He had to keep searching for some clue as to what the operation that Brennan and Shalimar had been tangled up in was. They had told him everything they could but he was still so unsure.   
  
He knew the whole thing would have moved out of the building by now so there was probably little point in going back there. Unfortunately whoever it was that had set it all up still had all the genetic data from the kids and Shalimar. The project was still up and running and that scared Adam more than anything else.   
  
If they were making clones of new mutants it could be like just another Genomex. Another group of people driven by the power of the people they controlled. And when it all went horribly wrong and some of the new mutants escaped as they inevitably would there would be more searching, more searching for innocent people who don't have any control over who or what they are.  
  
When Adam had left Genomex behind he had hoped to prevent that kind of tragedy from ever happening again. He had failed. He knew the members of the team would deny that he had done anything wrong but it all linked back to him. Along with Paul Breedlove it was he who had started experimenting with DNA. He had believed himself to be helping. He had been wrong.   
  
Adam reached his arm down to the off button and pushed it in. The computer screen went black and the whirring noise that it had been emitting stopped abruptly. Adam stood up from the chair and headed out of the lab to his room. Emma had definitely been right. He needed sleep.  
  
***  
  
The blank ceiling stared right back at her. She didn't know how long she had been lying next to the slowly shifting and changing water. Minutes seemed to have melted into hours and she had lain there, trying to make sense of it all.   
  
Shalimar had been in dangerous situations before, many dangerous situations. But this one had affected her more than most. Maybe it was the thought that there was someone else in the world who looked exactly like her. Or maybe it had been the sight of all the children in so much pain. She had felt for a few short seconds what one of them was going through but it had been enough.   
  
But the aspect of the past few days that her mind had been dwelling on was Brennan. She remembered the night they had gone out to the club. She had felt his eyes on her as she danced and she could practically see the smirk on his face as she brushed off the attention of other men.   
  
And then the next morning everything had been turned upside down. She had always trusted the members of Mutant X. They had been through a lot together and although they all occasionally had their moments she could always rely on them. Jesse and Adam were like family to her, they were closer than her real family ever was. Emma was her best friend, there to listen and be listened to whenever either of them had a problem. But Brennan, he was difficult to classify, their relationship difficult to define. Over the past months ever since Gabriel had shown up something had changed. They were different around each other and she knew she wasn't the only one who had noticed it. But neither of them had done anything. And now everything had changed all over again. She knew it wasn't his fault but he had unwittingly betrayed her and it would take a while for her to forget.   
  
She could feel him watching her. She could practically sense the awkwardness of his actions. He didn't know whether to come over to her to talk or whether to walk away and give her more time to think about things.   
  
She wasn't sure how she wanted to react. Shalimar wasn't sure whether she wanted to talk it over with another person. She had told Adam all about the building and what she could see of all the experiments but as to her emotional state, only she and presumably Emma knew anything about that.   
  
She lay on the smooth boardwalk and stared at the rippling lights on the ceiling of Sanctuary caused by the light shining off the water. She knew he was waiting for her to acknowledge his presence but she lay there. She didn't want to talk to him, she didn't know if she could without breaking down and then she knew the anger would surface and she would do the one thing she didn't want to do...show that she was angry with him, show that she hated him for doing what he had done to her.   
  
She heard his footsteps as they retreated down the length of the room. She heard the click of his door as it closed behind him and she felt the silence as it engulfed her. 


End file.
